Burner for coating hollow glassware



June 1, 1954 R. A. KUEBLER 2,679,321

BURNER FOR COATING HOLLOW GLASSWARE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed March 27, 1948 lrwven tor": Rober t: A. KuebLev,

His A t bovneg.

June 1, 1954 R. A. KUEBLER BURNER FOR COATING HOLLOW GLASSWARE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed March 27, 1948 Inventor-: Robewt AKuebLev, b W 0 KW His A t tovnea.

.surface of hollow glassware.

most; particularly concerned with a .fume or 7 Patented June 1, 1954 BURNER on COATING o ow GLA w fi :Rohert'A. Kuebler, Cleveland; Heights, Ohio, assignor to General Electric Company a corporation of N ew York Original application March 27, 1948, Serial No. 17,494. Divided and this application April 14, 195 0,-Serial No. 155,982

1 Claim. 1

My invention relates in general to. apparatus for coating the inner surfaceof hollow glassware ,for illuminating and irradiating purposes. ..More particularly, myinvention relates to. aburner for generating a controlled fume or. smoke oflightdiffusing or radiation-modifying particles. which can be utilized to produce the desired deposition or distribution of. such particles overtheinner The invention is smoke generator or burner for depositing a fumeproduced diiiusing coating upon the innersurfaces of theneck and bulbous portions of the en ..velopes of incandescent lamps. This application isv a division of my copending application Serial No. 17,494, filed. March 27,1948, now Patent Number 2,586,348, and assigned to the same assignee as that of the present application.

According-to theinvention of Marvin Pipkin,

as disclosed in .the pending patent application Serial No. 378 filed January 7, 1948, nowePatent Number 2.545396, which is assigned tothe assignee of the present invention, a fume or smoke of very fine particles is a preferred source .of coating material for irradiation-modifying purposes.

The fineness and character of the particles comprised of sucha-fume or smoke are suchas to cause them to adhere to g-lasswarein a very satisfactory manner when deposited-di- .rectly out of the fume and are such thatthey can readily be deposited on-glassware in a coating of apparent-uniform density. For instance, the burning of a combustible silicon compound such as ethyl silicatein a lamp bulb in the .presence of air and oxygen produces a fume of very fine. silica particles which are deposited onthe inner surface of the bulb to form a thin adherent coating of very high diffusioncharacteristics and inappreciable light-absorbing properties. '-The fume-produced coating can also be applied to the inner surface of inside frosted incandescent lamp bulbs to give maximum diffusion.

One object of. my invention is to provide apparatus for producing a fumeofvery fine lightdifi'using or irradiation-modifying particles within hollow glassware, and causing., said particles to be deposited on the inner surfaceof .said'glassware. The fume is produced by th flame from a burner inserted into the glasswareandisthe product resulting-from the burning, of .acombustible silicon compound in the presence of .oxy-

gen supplied in a minor proportion'by the air within saidglassware and in a major proportion by a discharge from 3 theburner.

Another object of my invention is taprovide .apparatus for directing a fume of very fine particles against the sur facev of glassware in a manner causing said fume to fiectivelyr impinge upon or wipe said surface. Such a mannerof operation permits very satisfactory controls to be established over. the density of the ,depofacture. The fume is produced within the. flame from a burnerintroduced into the hollow interior of the. glassware, which flame results from the burning of a combustible fume-producing gas discharged by said burner and which extendsin a lateral direction fromsaidburner because. of the pull or suction of a stream of a second gas discharged with .someqiorce contiguously thereto. Almost all of the .fume appears inthe stream of gas and is dischargedin. the direction of and with the force of said stream so that a selective distribution of fume-about. the burner results. A relativemovementtbetween the burner and the glassware permits the .desireddistribution of fume particles over the, surface of said glass ware. The directional.propertiesof thev burner ar desirable to provide a ready control over the distribution. ofthefume particles overthe glassware and permit, uniform, very. light and graduated depositions. thereof over. various portionsof said glassware.

Still anotherobject of. myinventionis to provide afume generatornorburner for the propagation ofv a fume-producingilama which burner generates within itself the .gas. burned in the flamefrom a liquidsupply and which effects said generation by absorbing heat from the flame and transferring. itto said liquid. The self-generating burner. is also. ofsuch proportions as to be capable of proper operation within the relatively confining .open neck andv the adjacent comparatively large bulbous portionof a glass lamp bulb or other glassware and accordingly must not causesuch non-uniform heating of the bulb or glassware thatcracking occurs, and must .cause the desired deposition of fume particles .vide a u e, nerat ri eb rmr)f ji e b oc ,gation of a fume producing flame, which burner is so constructed that a minimum of fume parti- 3 cles deposit thereon, and which is readily cleaned of deposit. Still further objects and advantages of my invention will appear from the following description of species thereof and from the drawing.

In the drawing, Fig. l is a side elevation of a burner and associated apparatus for the propagation of a fume of fine light-diifusing particles and for causing said fume particles to deposit in a selected manner over the inner surface of a lamp bulb, the apparatus being shown midway through a cycle of operation and partially broken away in the planes of a quarter section; Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional plan and side views, on an enlarged scale, of the burner disclosed in Fig, 1; Fig. 4 is a side elevation, from which a quarter section is taken, of a common form of lamp bulb, a burner and directly associated apparatus for causing fume particles to deposit on the inner surface of said bulb; Fig. is a sectional plan view of the burner disclosed in Fig. 4 as taken from the plane indicated by the line 5-5 in Fig. 4 and in the direction indicated; and Fig. 6 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of a modified burner.

The specific form of my invention appearing in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 starts its cycle of operation with the burner l and the bulb holder 2 in a lowered position with their upper ends only slightly above the top surface of the support bracket 3, at which position sufficient clearance is provided below the conveyor 4 to allow lateral movement of said conveyor 4 to advance the lamp bulb 5 to the position shown. The conveyor 4 can take the form of a turret or any other well-known form of carrier; however, it is preferred that it be driven from the drive shaft 6, which also provides the means of timing and effecting all operations of the coating apparatus, in order to function in proper synchronism therewith. If less automatic operation is adequate or desired, the conveyoror holder 4 may remain in the position shown at all times and the lamp bulbs 5 may be inserted and removed therefrom manually at the proper intervals.

All operations of the coating process occur at the work station shown and are initiated, after the lamp bulb 5 is located at said station, by the upward movement of the holder 2 and the burner I. These movements are brought about by the rotation of the drive shaft 6 and the cams 9 and ill, the former of which raises the holder 2 until it engages the inner surface of the bulb neck I and, through said engagement, lifts the bulb 5 from the rests 8 of the conveyor 4, and the latter of which raises the burner I into the bulb 5 through its neck I. At the presently described moment the high side of the cam 9 is brought into position below the roller H on the lever [2 thereby causing said lever l2, which is connected to the lower end of the holder 2 by means of link [3 and collar M, to turn about the stationary shaft I5 to thereby raise said holder 2. The collar [4 is a split member in which the holder 2 can turn freely and can only influence the vertical position of the holder since the only positive lock therebetween is the engagement of the internal ridge IS on collar M with the annular groove 16a in the holder 2. The engagement of a rise portion of the cam ID with the roller I! on the lever l8 moves said lever l8 about the stationary shaft l5 so that the link [9 and collar 20, which connect it to the metal burner support tube 2|, are moved upward and effect a corresponding movement of the support tube 2| and burner l.

At the time the burner l and shield 22 are introduced into the neck 1 of the bulb 5, the upper end portion of the burner is located just above the top of the tubular metal shield 22 which is in effect the upper end of the holder 2, and a flame burns about a discharge opening completely around said end portion. The name results from the combustion of gaseous ethyl silicate discharged laterally from between the metal shield or cap 23 (Figs. 1, 2 and 3) and the flanged metal head 24 of the burner l and is drawn into a contiguous stream of gas discharged laterally or radially from the openings 25 in the base of the peripheral groove 26 about the burner head 24. The base of said groove 26 is formed by a depending annular flange or ring portion 28a of the head 24. Only a minor portion of the flame remains out of the stream of gas as the pressure of discharge of the gaseous ethyl silicate is relatively low since it is free to pass through the large openings 2'! in the tubular stem portion 21a of the shield 23 as soon as it is generated from the liquid form L present in the inner tube 28 of the burner stem. As shown in Fig. 3, the tubular portion 21a constitutes, in effect, an extension of the inner tube 28 of the burner stem, and the shield 23 closes off the upper end of such tube.

Control over the amount of the combustible ethyl silicate gas discharged by the burner l is afforded through the control of the liquid ethyl silicate introduced into the burner I, which liquid is drained by the force of gravity from a constant level reservoir 29 through the valve 30 and the flexible hose 3i to the lower end of the support tube 32 on which the inner tube 28 of the burner l is mounted. The control valve 30 is adjusted to allow the required quantity of liquid ethyl silicate to flow into the tube 28 of the burner l to produce the desired flame thereabout and has no reference to the ability of the burner l to generate gas therefrom. The liquid level in tube 28 should not be permitted to fall too low since that would cause the vapors to burn inside the cap portion 210. and thereby fill up the holes 21. For all normal requirements of the burner l, sufiicient heat is contained therein to vaporize the liquid ethyl silicate as fast as it is introduced into said burner I, although the level of the liquid ethyl silicate in the burner l rises as greater amounts thereof are fed thereto. To retain the proper degree of heat in the burner, the tube 28 may be made of metal having relatively poor heat conductivity; a suitable material is a stainless steel containing about 18 per cent chromium, 8 per cent nickel and the remainder iron. The outer tube or sleeve 35 and cap 23 may be made of the same material, or the said cap may be made of brass. An inverted bottle 33 with its open neck in the reservoir 29 provides the automatic means of replenishing the liquid drained therefrom.

The stream of gas discharged from the openings 25 in the burner I is at such a pressure that the major part of the gaseous ethyl silicate is drawn into it and produces a flame taking the same direction as the stream. It is preferred that the gas in said stream be oxygen so as to facilitate the formation of fume particles of the desired character from the flame and accordingly a source thereof (not shown) is connected to the rubber hose 34 leading to the outer support tube 2| which is connected by means of the sleeve 35 of the burner l to the openings 25 therein. An adjustable constant-pressure source of oxygen is preferred.

qaecasei the flame, and any other that may occur because .of slight deposits of. fume particleszthereon, do

not result in uneven distribution'of fume: particles over the bulb 5 because thebulb is con- .stantly being rotated by. the holder 2. The rotation of the bulb 5 i also'desirable to cause the full periphery thereof to be: uniformly .heated'by .the

flame so as to. avoid cracking said bulb, and is effected through its engagement. with. the refractory collar 36 onthe holder. 2. The said. collar 36 fits snugly in the neck 1 of the bulb 5 and may be made of a mixtureoz asbestos and Portland cement. The relatively light engagement of the shield 22 with the bulb neck 1 assists in keeping the. bulb 5 in alignment with the holder 2 during the rotative movement which is imparted to said holder 2 from the pulley 31 by mean of the key 38 therebetween. The pulley 31 is driven from a source (not shown) of constant rotation by means of the belt'39 and is retained in the position shown, so' as not to be affected by the vertical motions of the holder 2',by the key 48 which is fastened to the support bracket 3 and which enters a peripheral groove in said pulley 31. The

key 38- slides in a longitudinal keyway in the holder 2 during the vertical movement thereof.

The deposit of fume particles on the bulb 5 is restricted, at a given instant, largely to the area of the bulb 5 contacted by and. adjacent to the stream of gas emitted by the burner I, as nearly all of.the fume is produced in the stream of gas and to a great. extent deposits on said bulb 5 during its wiping engagement therewith. The stream of gas emitted by the burner I becomes in efie'ct a stream of fume which, after engagement with the walls of the bulb 5, rolls both up and down along said walls bringing all of the 'phere, together with other products of combus-- tion, through'the open upper end of the holder 2 and the'lateral openings 4| therein. The portion of the fiame outside of the gas stream burns slowly in a flickering manner and has the dual function of contributing heat to the burner I and of piloting the flame within the gas stream.

" The rate of production of fume by the burner 'I is sohigh that the upward movement thereof need not be interrupted after it first enters the open neck 1 of the bulb 5 and is caused to continue, although at somewhat less speed. When the burner I is raised to the position where the stream of fume therefrom passes beyond the narrow neck 1 of the bulb 5 and into the wider flaring portion of said bulb 5, its rate of movement is reduced proportionately to the greater area over which the fume particles are deposited sothat a substantially uniform coating of fume particles deposits on the various parts of the bulb.

These various rates of upward movement are effected by differences in thechanges in shape of the various portions of the cam I0 which are engaged :by the roller .I.1,1anct arefollowed bya .shortqinactivez-period in: .themovement ofu-Jthe' -burner I whenithezstream; of fume; therefrom reaches the .upper limit overwhich the fumezparticles are. to: be deposited. on: .the bulb. 5 in (,the

p-resentzinstance. :The bulb Skis tdhave a.sub'- stantially.uniform-coating of fumeparticles .over theJneckand sidewalls thereof, with a very. light coating: on.the top: end .or .face thereof. 1 Therefore, theburner. Lis; againzcausedzto movedown .afteratime interval at the upper limit of ;its motionduring whicha coatingisbuilt .of equal density to that-deposited over.::the-other portions-of thebulb 5 during .the upward movement of the burner. Ix. and :the. subsequent return; downward movementthereof. .The shaperof cam I0 issuch ..that: the: downwardmovement of. the burner I .ing or melting.

When the burner I has been lowered to: a posi tion where the gasstreamjustpasses the topof the shield 22,. acorresponding downward movement occurs in both burner I and holder 2- which first lowersthe bulb 5-onto the rests8 of the conveyor. 4 and then carries the burner and holder completely out of the neck 1 of the bulbi. The conveyor 4 then-indexes so-asto carry the coated bulb 5 out of the-work station-and bring another uncoa-ted bulb in its place.

' The upper end of the b'ulb 5; which-receives a coating of very light density; is in the present instance. coated by particles from the extraneous fume within the bulb 5 and-graduallyincreases in density around the edge to the fulldensity of the side coating on said bulb 5 due to-the additional deposit of fume'particles from the'fume stream at this point. The shield 23-over thetop of the burner I isto a'certain extent responsible for the extremely light density of the coating .on-the end of the bulb' 5 in that it prevents-the combustible fume producing gas from burning over the upper end thereof; however, almost any degree of density canbe obtained by varying exposure of the fume thereto. Inthe presentinuniform rate and the rate ofmovement'of the burner be inverselyproportional to'the area-covered by the stream of fume therefrom. In every instance, however, it is preferred thatthatportion of the glasswareto be coated be lifted-from engagement with any supporting means'or held in some manner whereby said means cannot have a cooling e'ifectthereon and accordingly disturb the disposition of fume or heating of said glassware. I 1 If other glassware of diiferent'shape and proportions, such as the common form of lamp bulb 5* shown in Fig. 4, is to be-coated uniformly-over the entire interior-surface thereof, a modified burner I- is preferably used. 'Thefume particles are to be deposited over the end andthe-sides-of the bulb 5 sothat the ability of burner I to direct a stream: of fume both laterally and longitudinally thereof is preferable.

7 The combustible fume-producing material is introduced into the burner I in liquid form L through the bottom of the support tube 32' and is vaporized into a gas by the heat within the stem 28 to finally be discharged out the openings 21" of the shield or cap 23. The gas (oxygen) stream establishes the direction of spread of the fumeproducing flame and, accordingly, the stream of gas enters the sleeve 35' of the burner I' from the support tube 2 I and is discharged from the burner I through the openings 25 (Figs. 4 and located in the base of the peripheral groove 26' in the stem head 24. The assembly of parts making up the burner I is completed by a deflector 43 consisting of a sheet metal ring having an oblique upper end 43'. The said deflector 43 is the means of redirecting the gas stream from the openings so that it passes directly from the openings 25 in a lateral direction at one (low) side of the deflector (which is below the openings) and is redirected and takes a more upward direction further around said burner I until a vertically upward direction is taken at the opposite (high) side of the deflector which is above the openings 25.

The above-described modified burner I is preferably used in combination with apparatus like that shown in Fig. 1 and effects the coating of the lamp bulb 5 while said bulb is supported and rotated by a holder 2' corresponding to the holder 2 of the Fig. 1 apparatus. At the start of the cycle of operation the burner I is located just above the top edge of the shield 22' and is moved upward toward the top end of the bulb 5 at a variable rate of speed to a great extent dependent on the area swept by the stream of fume emitted thereby. In the present instance there is more extraneous fume in the bulb 5' than in the Fig. l apparatus since the flame and, consequently, the fume directed upward in the gas stream from the burner I', is initially a relatively long distance from the top of said bulb 5' and since a larger proportion of flame burns freely over the top of said burner I and outside of the gas stream. This extraneous fume is responsible for a larger amount of the fume particles deposited on the bulb 5 than in the prior instance; however, the desired uniformity of coating is obtained if the burner I is moved upward and then downward in said bulb 5' during the cycle of operation in much the same manner as in the prior instance. A short dwell occurs in the movement of the burner I at the upper limit thereof; otherwise, it is uninterrupted. The

"burner I is also characterized by relatively thin ,walls of the stem 28' and the sleeve in order to reduce the heat loss therefrom to a minimum.

The modified coating burner shown in Fig. 6 is adapted to project an upwardly and outwardly directed stream of fume from the end thereof, a stream which is particularly desirable in coating long tubular glassware but which is likewise useful in coating a lamp bulb like that shown in Fig. 4. The combustible fume-producing liquid L is vaporized into a gas in the head 46 of the burner 45 and flows through a plurality of lat eral openings 48 to an inverted frusto-conical or outwardly flaring annular distribution chamber 49 vented at the edge of the burner head 45. The gas (oxygen) stream developing the directional properties of the burner 45 is discharged from the opening between the upper edge of the burner head 46 and the surrounding outer shell 5H of said burner 45 and passes upward and outward between the upper edge 5| of the shell 50 and the shield or deflector 52 mounted thereabove. The flame is flared outwardly and has a swirling motion caused by the circulation of the stream of gas about the screw-shaped (helical) partition 53 between the burner head 46 and the shell 50. Both flame conditions assist in causing the fume produced thereby to wipe or scrub the surface of the glassware. The sources of the combustible liquid and the gas are connected to the support tubes 54 and 55, respectively, of the burner 45, the liquid flowing upward through the open interior of the tube 54 and the burner head 56, and the gas flowing through the space between tubes 5 and 55 and the grooves 5'6 in said head 46.

In normal operation some particles of fume deposit on the burner 45 and must be brushed therefrom on occasion, while at other times a more thorough cleaning of said burner 45 is required. The normal passage of the gas stream up between the tubes 54 and 55, through the grooves 56 and between the burner head 45 and the shell 50 keeps these portions of the burner 45 clean. Those portions of the burner 45 holding both the liquid and gaseous combustible material are, on the other hand, subject to blocking by particles deposited from the fume and are constructed so as to be readily removable for cleaning. The shield 52 and the cap 51 can be lifted from the burner 45, thereby giving access to the full length of the interior of the burner head 46 and the support tube 54, the openings 48 and the distribution chamber 49. Replacing the shield 52 and the cap 5'! merely consists in first lowering the cap 51 over the tubular projection 58 within the well 62 in the top of the burner head 46 to the extent allowed by the shoulder 59 and then inserting the, post 60 extending from the shield 52 into the opening provided by the tubular projection 6I on the cap 51 to the extent allowed by the projection 58.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

A burner of the class described comprising a hollow stem portion adapted to contain a combustible liquid fuel and having at its upper end an outwardly flanged head portion integral therewith and provided with a depending annular flange portion having a plurality of laterally directed gas outlet openings around its periphery closely adjacent the said flanged head portion, means connected to supply the combustible liquid to the hollow stem at a rate to maintain the liquid at a level closely adjacent the upper end of the stem, means constituting a short upward extension of the upper end of said stem, said extension being closed at its upper end by an outwardly extending shield portion overlying and substantially co-extensive with and spaced a relatively short distance from the said flanged head portion of said stem to form therewith a narrow annular nozzle-like passageway therebetween opening radially outwardof the stem, said stern extension being provided with fuel outlet openings in its side wall located just above said flanged head portion and communicating with said nozzle-like passageway, said fuel outlet openings being of relatively large size permitting substantially unrestricted outflow of vaporized combustible liquid in the stem, and a sleeve portion surrounding said stem in spaced relation thereto and abutting the said depending annular flange portion to form with said stem and its flanged head portion a chamber for passage of a combustion-supporting gas upwardly therethrough and radially outward through said gas outlet openings in said annular flange portion.

References Cited in the file of thi patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Vance July 26, 1921 Vezie Mar. 7, 1922 Biggs et a1. Apr. 23, 1935 Rava June 9, 1936 Number 1 0 40,299

Name Date Stocker Jan. 3, 1939 Hyde Feb. 10, 1942 Erickson Mar. 28, 1944 Hammell Sept. 5, 1944 Porter Dec. 25, 1945 Kuebler Feb. 19, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Denmark June 17, 1929 

